A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Coder and others- Thoughts on this article? - Andrews student

Posted: Feb 04, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/for-insurance-exchanges-states-need-navigatorsand-hiring-them-is-a-huge-task/2013/02/04/bb5e577c-6960-11e2-ada3-d86a4806d5ee_story.html

I'd put this on the Main Board, but I think that this job will need some knowledge about medical billing and insurance (not necessarily coding, though). So it might be a better topic for this board.

Any thoughts on what the job title might be, possible pay rate, and how a position like this one might fit into a career trajectory for someone who is in school for medical billing or coding? What kinds of certifications might prepare someone for this type of work?

This is what I know so far... - see msg.

[ In Reply To ..]
Since I'm an Andrews student, I know that someone will ask me what I have found out so far.

http://patients.about.com/od/caringforotherpatients/a/padegrees.htm

I don't think this is quite the same thing - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Being a Medicare guru, which is what your friend is, and helping people navigate THAT system is a reasonable job. I was trying to figure out something today and wished I had somebody like that to help me! A coding job would help with that, if not be absolutely necessary, and it would possibly even be considered as a type of experience if you wanted to move into a straight coding position. It's even a complex and difficult job.

Being a patient representative is also a worthwhile, complex, and difficult job. It requires good people skills, lots of knowledge about healthcare, insurance, and legal issues, and it would be rewarding.

Those jobs could be called "navigator," but the job in the article referenced in the original post . . . even though called "navigator" . . . isn't the same thing.

That position is not navigating Medicare (a very complex reimbursement system) or even a third-party payer. It is just helping people choose which insurance policy they want. It's basically sales without selling--that's why the insurance sellers are upset about it. The person comes in, says they can't decide, and you tell them about their options. "We have pot pie, burgers, and soup. Casserole is chicken and vegetables, burger comes with pickles and fries, and the soup is pretty basic. You can get a salad with any of them, but it's extra." It's a person handing out flyers for tourist attractions in a hotel lobby.

A Medicare 'navigator" or patient representative would help someone choose secondary carriers, sort out bills, figure out if they're being ripped off or if their rights were violated, check their bills for accuracy, and maybe even help them file complaints. It's the concierge, not just a flyer-hander-outer.

Patient representative jobs in general are very rewarding. They can be very challenging and complex. They're definitely a concierge, but not necessarily coding or reimbursement-oriented.

It's great to think of interesting and unexpected options in case you cant find a coding job right away, but don't sell yourself short! Go about job hunting with the expectation that you'll get a really good job--aim as high as you can. With high hopes, you'll do better in school, be inspired to do well on certification exams, and impress employers.

Just for the sake of perspective, about 1/3 into your course, you will have covered more than the CPC courses. By the 2/3 mark, you will have covered more coding than many college programs. You should make every effort to succeed, but do so knowing that you have been given the resources you need plus some.

Thank you for this great response - Andrews student

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you, Coder. I appreciate your insight very much.

Not seeing the appeal in this - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
These jobs are not in coding or billing. They are basically insurance sales jobs, except they aren't selling it. They will be helping people understand their options, what they need, what policies are available.

Training will be minimal -- it can be provided by the employer. I doubt if there will be many prerequisites. Pay will be minimal because it is not a revenue-generating job - it is a "do-gooder" job that in some places will be done by volunteers. States don't have a lot of money to pay for this. Organizations like the AARP aren't going to have a lot of money, either. That right there tells you that this job is not going anywhere. It is going to be a short-term job, too, and most people doing it will not be needed once everyone gets signed up with a plan.

There also appears to be risk involved. You could end up being sued for giving bad advice. Insurance salesmen will hate you. I won't go so far as to say that you'll find them burning insurance policies on your lawn, but . . .

And after everybody gets signed up and you get let go in six months, you will still have no coding experience.

I think for many MTs who have NOT had coding training, this might be a good opportunity to make some cash and maybe move on. If you just feel inspired to do what is basically charitable work, ok, too -- you can help your church sign up church members. But, you just spent $3800 and all that time on what must be the best coding program around. Why would you forgo a job that will eventually pay more than an average of $47K just for office coding and more for hospital outpatient coding, and which will not involve dealing with hostile, angry consumers (you know, all those ones who resent having to buy this insurance), with people who just can't afford this no matter what, or with irate insurance salesmen? I would also worry about being sued for causing financial harm--they did mention a possible need for liability insurance. (Even coders don't need that!)

Ok, thank you - Andrews student

[ In Reply To ..]
I am investigating all of my options for entry level work out of necessity. A friend is a CPC and this is what she is doing, essentially, for Medicare patients. I thought that perhaps a position like this one might be worth investigating as a back-up plan, in case I couldn't find entry-level work.
You are right, I can always learn more. That's why I am asking here. Thanks for the great reply. You have given me a lot of think about and I appreciate your candor.

Didn't you know? - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Coding jobs are falling off the trees for new Andrews graduates, don't worry.

Why? - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Why do you keep posting this stuff? I'm sorry life is hard for you and you couldn't get a job as a coder and you lost your MT job, but geez, must you continually come on this board and bash Andrews and new coders trying to find work? Did you go to Andrews and did they promise you a coding job? Is that why you are so negative towards any coders or coding students? Are you the same Anonymous one who posted below? Did you read the responses to that post? If not, you should. Lighten up, we come to this board looking for support and help, not sour grapes. Again, I'm sorry things didn't work out for you, but don't take it out on the rest of us just looking for work.

I saw something really great yesterday... - Andrews student

[ In Reply To ..]
I came across Sarah Barton's LinkedIn profile. I remember taking a webinar a few years back, where she talked about how she used her MT training to segue into other positions.

Her profile showed that she landed a couple of great positions and continued her education, her current position being with a very well-respected and innovative hospital system.

If she could pull all of that off with hard work and an Andrews degree (as a start), so can I.

It can be done. Watch me.

A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life

Thank you - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
What a wonderful post! That's the kind of post I love reading, full of hope and inspiration, what a refreshing concept. A positive attitude goes a long way.

Similar Messages:

Apr 30, 2015

is the more logical jump for an MT? I love MT, but I only have a vague sense of what skills these other 2 involve. Thanks for any input. I am weighing my options. ...

Jun 25, 2011

http://education.yahoo.net/articles/5_growing_health_care_careers.htm?kid=1H693 ...

Sep 28, 2013

When asked to code pulmonary nodule, with no other information, how can you tell the correct code? Under nodule I see pulmonary, solitary 793.11, I see lung, solitary 793.11 & solitary, lung 518.89. I already know that the 518 one is correct but I have no idea why. ...

Mar 25, 2010

I graduated from school last year and have worked as an IC with a company for 3 months. I was told I'd be the sole MT on one small Ortho account, but now I know I was lied to. Other MTs grab everything out of the queue and I'm lucky if I make $23/day, many days I get 0 jobs. The office manager is so clueless that she is entirely unhelpful, and after several attempts I've given up trying to get the work I was promised when hired. I need the money so I can't ...

Sep 09, 2010

I have been researching all the online MT Courses and have decided that the 2 I seem to think are the most reputable are TRSInstitute and Career Step. Any input from anyone on any schools? Or should I even be considering this field right now? I have read alot of discouraging posts. TRSI includes Speech recognition in its course, unlike alot of the other shcools. Thanks! ...

Oct 28, 2010

One of the posts below mentioned something happening in the next two months or by the end of the year (can't find the post now). Also, I recall some administrative e-mail alluding to the same, the e-mail about how CBay is poised to take over more Medquist assets. Is something going to happen to us that we should know about? ...

Apr 27, 2011

I think that when we edit an ASR document, we should be compensated at our transcription rate for every keystroke we do to make the report ready for the client. Since Medquist is so accurately able to calculate our keystrokes, mouse clicks and so on, it should be easy for them to determine how many extra keystrokes were required to prepare the final report. ...

May 01, 2011

Several people have asked me if I think MT is still a viable career. Coincidentally, today as I was cleaning out some files, I found notes from a seminar I gave and thought I would summarize a few of the thoughts, hoping they might be of value to someone out there. (Moderator, if you don't feel this is appropriate, please just delete the post.) First, there are three "myths" to consider: 1. The myth that medical transcription is easy money. Many of the no ...

Jun 09, 2011

Anyone have experience with MD-IT? TIA. ...

Aug 28, 2011

Hello all. I am currently an MT and for many reasons I am considering leaving that career. I was wondering about coding and billing. How is the pay? As an MT I have seen the pay go down considerably over the years and was wondering if coding/billing is in the same boat. Also, would you recommend becoming a coder in this economy? Which school has the best program? Thanks. ...

Sep 10, 2011

If Obama's job act goes through and employers are rewarded for hiring the unemployed, do you think that will make a difference to the companies that off shore and cause the hiring of more US MTs? ...

Jan 15, 2012

Anyone who went into coding from MT, are/were you a CMT and if so did you keep your CMT credential up after being in coding a while or did you let it fall away seeing really no further need for it? Having to keep up coding credentials is enough and I wonder if I really need to keep it. Any reasons why I should keep it? ...

Feb 16, 2012

Question about coding bootcamps, does anyone have any experience with HCPro bootcamps? I have been an MT for 17+ years and want to switch to coding. Would this be appropriate for someone with my background? Thanks for the help. ...

Oct 22, 2012

On DQS 7.1 I keep hearing how the SR is so much better. What the heck? I haven't a clue why anyone thinks this, but I have a trusted friend who agrees her SR has improved dramatically. My accounts have dropped dramatically in the SR, which leads me to believe that this is potentially due to something my CCM might not have done correctly with our accounts. We've never had gender discrepancy noted, although this is supposed to happen. We've never had cl ...

Nov 06, 2012

Deleted. ...

Jun 03, 2013

Why not just make it 100% and get it over with? I guess they figure it's kind of like killing frogs in boiling water. ...

Jul 26, 2013

I'm not a medical coder. The only ties I have to the medical profession is that I'm a patient. This transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10, exactly how is this happening. Do you all have to go back to school to learn ICD-10? From the outside looking in, it sounds like a major undertaking, but hopefully it's not. ...

Dec 04, 2013

I typed as doctor dictated, ". . . pee off . . . " Audit dinged me and changed to, "urinated off." What should have been done? I thought we were not to change what they said. ...

May 20, 2014

Today I was just wondering if the honorees of other appreciation weeks (nurses, lab techs, housekeepers, basically every health-care subgroup) were required to participate in puzzles, games, essays, and otherwise jump through hoops, to get "prizes", usually a trinket or a low denomination gift card? Maybe I'm just sensitive because I've been doing this long enough to remember when gifts, festive meals, respect and all-year-long good pay (the best gift of all) were freely gi ...

Jun 21, 2014

...

Jun 28, 2014

Do you guys think the minimum line count will be going up soon? Some states have raised their minimum wage. Trying to figure out how some of us would be able to hold on if it were to go up any higher than 150/hr. Barely able to meet that as it is. Just don't think makeup pay is something they're very happy about having to provide either. So wondering if this will be the end of the line for those of us not meeting production, though not for lack of hard effort. ...

Jul 06, 2014

of fixing report after report. VR was sold with fradulant representation. The way this has continued is the MT is to "fix" these reports to the facilities specs and regardless of what comes over, the end report is to be correct. Therefore, we are made to be our own worst enemy. I have been saving reports before/after for quite some time and keeping stats on how many incorrect VR words I have to correct, how much formatting I have to do per the specs of the facility, t ...

Sep 21, 2014

I am posting to (hopefully) give coding students hope, not to get dislikes on my post, but it is what it is. Here's my story: I graduated from coding school about a year ago, after being an MT for over 25 years. I am working as a coder and I am learning every day (reminds me of back in the day as a a new MT). There were so many days when I wanted to give up on coding because, let's face it, it's not easy, but I didn't. I honestly think I will make it as a coder, but I probabl ...

Dec 04, 2014

Why don't they just pay the MTs a decent wage instead of paying all the extra QA people for all the extra audits? This is a convoluted mess - transparent to who? Einstein? They need a standard blank submission policy. It is not fair to MLS like me who are not allowed to send any blanks versus those who can send up to 3 directly to the client. My pay will be dramatically impacted. Where is the difficulty factor? They have lied yet again. They really shot themselves in the ...

May 10, 2015

Just saying hi, and I really appreciate this board. I've been lurking for a while. I went to Career Step for medical transcription, but soon after graduating, I found the quick turn around time for MT just didn't work for my toddler and homeschooler, so I switched to GT. Now, 5 years later, it's time to switch things up again, and I've always been interested in the behind the scenes medical paperwork (as nerdy as that sounds!). So feeling kind of lost, I de ...

Apr 23, 2010

Just wondering. ...

Jul 12, 2010

The following is a post I found on the AAPC web site. I asked the poster first if it was okay to re-post here and he said okay. Quote begins as follows: My first coding job was about six years ago. I had called a local college asking about some health billing classes and as I was about to hang up the phone I asked the lady "by the way how do you get your first job in this field?". She said "it's kind of tough, but wait, someone put a card up on the board yesterday...". She got a car ...

Aug 08, 2010

We have so much American work outsourced to India - India should be our 51st state! ...

Aug 19, 2010

Would like any thoughts on this ... seems strange... ...

Sep 16, 2010

I was wondering why in the new 6.1 version, it takes more words to get an automatic S marker inserter (highlighting words then using the delete button). I used to have to count the words and if 5 or more, used to place the S marker. I wonder why now the difference. Do you think the Q keeps track of how many S markers are generally given in our documents as their ASR system is developed, and now wants to give themselves another pat on the back, exclaiming how their stellar ASR s ...